More Clients Memorandum

Why don’t clients buy from you (really)

Posted byIan Brodie on May 7th, 2017.

I've found that the exercise of asking yourself why clients don't buy from you is an incredibly useful one (as long as you answer honestly).

Do they hire someone else who's cheaper? Who they say is better qualified than you? Who seems like a safer option for them because they already know them?

Most of the people who I speak to, if they're honest, will admit that the number one reason people don't buy from them isn't that they choose someone else. It's that they just don't buy anything at all.

They decide that they don't really need what you (and your competitors) are offering enough to justify the pain and cost of buying and implementing it.

Usually, it's no surprise to people when we talk about how “doing nothing” is the main reason they don't win a client.

But then when I ask them what their main strategies to market themselves focus on, it turns out they seem to forget why they're not winning all this work.

Their main strategies seem to be about establishing themselves as an expert. About differentiating themselves from the competition.

But these types of strategies don't persuade a client who doesn't think they need to buy that they should. They're focused on why they should choose you after they've decided to buy.

Don't you think more focus should be put on helping clients see that something needs to change, rather than trying to show clients who aren't interested why you're better than other people they're not interested in either?

Where are you putting most of your marketing effort? If it's not in getting clients who are happy with the status quo to see that they shouldn't be, then you've probably got your priorities wrong.

More Clients Memorandum

You don’t have to do this

Posted byIan Brodie on April 30th, 2017.

Here's a problem I often here from my subscribers and clients:

“I just can't find the time for all these different marketing tactics. How can I keep up?”

And the answer, really, is that you can't.

No one – especially us small businesses – can do everything. And you don't need to.

There's a story I heard a while back from James Clear about advice Warren Buffet gave to his pilot who was discussing career goals with him.

Buffet got him to write down his top 25 goals, then circle the absolute top 5.

The pilot told him “great, I'll really prioritise these 5.”

Then Buffet asked him “what about the other 20?”

The pilot replied, “well, these are important too, I'll try to fit them in when I can.”

But Buffet violently disagreed.

“You've got it wrong. Everything you didn't circle just became your Avoid-At-All-Cost list. No matter what, these things get no attention from you until you've succeeded with your top 5.”

The point is that every minute you spend on one of those 20 is a minute you're not spending on your top 5.

It's the same with marketing.

There are literally hundreds of different things you could be doing. And there are people out there telling you that you should be engaging on Twitter, advertising on Facebook, connecting on Linkedin, doing live talks, webinars, video, SEOing your site, ad infinitum. 

And all of these things can work. The problem is that every minute you spend on them is a minute you're not spending on your “top 5”.

You don't need to do everything. You can't do everything. You can't even do more than about 5 things – so don't try. It will just distract you.

Whatever your top 5 is, stick to it. Maybe test out one new thing at a time and switch that in to your top 5 if it works really well.

But don't listen to all the folks telling you about the latest, greatest techniques they're succeeding with.

Usually they're biased: they want to sell you some training on how to do it. And often they're an unusual case. it worked for them but it won't work for you.

But even if it will work for you, the question is “will it work so extraordinarily well that it's worth stopping one of the other things you're doing?”

Usually not.

Stick to your Top 5, get great at them, and reap the rewards.

More Clients Memorandum

How to lose a sale

Posted byIan Brodie on April 23rd, 2017.

I needed to get some new photos done in a hurry recently for an external publication I was going to appear in.

I was heading in to Manchester later in the week, so made an enquiry with a photographer there.  I picked a high end one who worked with a lot of actors as I wanted some good headshots with “character”.

When I got an email reply to my enquiry about availability I noticed that the photographer was actually based way outside the city centre and I wasn't going to be able to fit in a visit.

The photographer was really good, so I decided I would just get a few quick ones done on the day with an alternative, and then go for a full shoot with him later on. So I emailed the photographer to tell him my plans.

My email must have hit something of a raw nerve as I got a snarky email back about how I was using the wrong criteria, how it would hurt my website and let down my image not to use him. How he was one of the last few classically trained photographers.

But apparently I should “fill my boots” if I could find someone as good as him.

I was quite taken aback. And naturally I decided on the spot that I wouldn't be using him for my full shoot after all.

I couldn't fathom what had prompted him to write such a snarky email that had lost him a certain sale.

Then I realised. I often do the same thing myself.

We all like to see ourselves as the lords of our own domain really. And when our expertise is challenged or ignored, even indirectly, we react.

I saw the fact that I was going to use someone else for the quick shoot for the magazine as a simple necessity due to a shortage of time. He saw it as a slight on his capabilities and proof that I didn't know what I was doing.

And I must admit, when someone ignores my advice or disagrees with it (especially in an area where I think I really know what I'm doing) I tend to see it as a bit of a slight too. 

It's usually not. There are a whole bunch of reasons why people might not choose to follow your advice that have nothing to do with you.

Take a deep breath. Don't immediately email back if you feel yourself reacting.

Treat people well, even if you disagree with them, and they may well come back to you. Lose your cool and send a snarky email and they're gone for life.

It's something I'm going to be more aware of in future.

More Clients Memorandum

Good news for those who give a damn

Posted byIan Brodie on April 19th, 2017.

Yesterday's email had quite a tough message I guess.

It said, in essence, that if you want to get productive meetings with high potential clients, you've got to put some work in to create something valuable they'd be interested in discussing.

Some people work hard in the wrong way. They kill themselves playing a numbers game hammering the phones or sending out a zillion emails to people they don't know, trying to get a meeting.

And it does (sort of) work if you don't have anything better.

Make enough calls and eventually, you'll find some people willing to have a meeting with you. And some of them may indeed be good potential clients.

And you can use modern robo-calling technology to only connect you when someone picks up – so you don't waste quite as much time as you used to.

But it's the wrong kind of hard work (and frankly, I dislike the ethics of disturbing tons of people and wasting their time just so you can get through to a small number who might say yes. Very selfish.).

A much better form of hard work is hard thinking to create something valuable that many more people will want to meet you to discuss. Insightful case studies, a contrarian point of view, a benchmarking report.

You only have to do that hard thinking once and you can reap the benefits time and time again.

But instead, most people choose to do the “easy” hard work of networking, calling, chatting on social media.

There's a famous quote often attributed to Lincoln (but almost certainly not his) that says “Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend four hours sharpening the axe.”

Rather than chopping away with a blunt axe, sharpen your axe by investing in creating something valuable that people will want to talk to you to discuss. Or download from your website. Or attend a webinar on.

Not the same old stuff they can hear from everyone else. But something sharp and new.

Give a damn about the content you create and the clients you serve by doing that hard thinking.

The good news…no…the great news is that so few others are willing to do it that you'll stand out like a beacon.

More Clients Memorandum

You get the meetings you deserve

Posted byIan Brodie on April 18th, 2017.

A lot of people struggle to get real meetings with potential clients.

By “real” I don't mean the “let's grab a coffee to talk about how we can help each other” or “lets do a 1-1” meetings beloved of networking organisations. The ones where both parties are hoping the other one will buy from them or refer them but that usually end up with nothing.

I mean meetings with potential clients where there's a strong chance they could become a paying client at some time in the future.

If you want more meetings with potential clients you need a good answer to the tough question: “why on earth would someone want to meet with you?”

“To find out how I could help them” isn't a good answer. Nor is “to understand more about them and their needs”.

Neither of those adds any value to the potential client.

Sure, you'll get some meetings that way. Some with tire-kickers. Some with people who already have a strong relationship with another supplier who just want to check the market. And a few genuine potential clients too.

But not nearly enough to build a thriving business.

Instead, craft something you could discuss with potential clients that would be useful, insightful and new for them. 

A review of the top trends for this year in their industry or your area of expertise.  

Benchmarking you've done on what their leading competitors are doing.

Case studies of businesses who've made the kind of major improvements they're looking to make.

Notice a common thread?

Apart from the fact that these are all incredibly valuable to a potential client, they also require you to do some work.

You can't just arrange a meeting and wing it with your super-smart questioning skills and off-the-cuff expertise.

You have to study current trends. Do the benchmarking. Prepare the case studies.

But if you put in that work, you'll get far more potential clients saying yes to meetings with you. And those meetings will do far more to build your relationship and establish your authority than meetings to “find out what they're looking for”.

If you put in the work you'll get the meetings you deserve.

And if you don't…well, you'll get the meetings you deserve.

More Clients Memorandum

The simple secret of follow up that works

Posted byIan Brodie on April 16th, 2017.

In the last few weeks I've been sharing strategies for effective follow-up. But it struck me today that I forgot to mention the most important factor that ensures you get results from your follow-up.

It's to make it a habit.

Follow up once and you might get noticed.

Follow up two or three times and you'll probably be remembered a few weeks down the line.

But follow up (in a way that people value) week in, week out for months and years and you'll become a key part of your clients and prospects lives.

It's like compound interest really. You don't notice the effect at first but each follow-up builds on the previous to create a lasting impression.

The secret of making follow-up a habit is to plan it into your schedule and ideally to do it at the same date and time every week. Like going to the gym or reading. Make it something you just do rather than something you have to think about.

More Clients Memorandum

How to stand out with your follow-up

Posted byIan Brodie on April 9th, 2017.

In last Sunday's email we looked at a simple method for following up with people after you first connect with them.

Follow-up, you won't be surprised to hear, is incredibly powerful. Keep in touch, keep top of mind, and you can cut out layer upon layer of painful selling and instead be the first person your ideal clients turn to when they need help.

Unfortunately, you're not the only one hoping to do this.

If you want your follow-up to be effective, you have to do it in a way that stands out from what everyone else is doing.

Options: you can do more. Follow-up with more people, more often. 

It works. Most of your competitors are lazy. Work a bit harder and you can have an edge.

Personally though, I don't like working harder.

Better, I find, to follow up differently. 

Phone instead of emailing. Write a letter instead of phoning. Record and send a video instead of a letter. 

Don't send a Facebook message to say happy birthday, send a card (remember them!). Don't do it on their birthday, do it on the anniversary of meeting them.

Introduce two contacts to each other who you think would be able to help each other out. Arrange a dinner for your 8 best business contacts.

None of those ideas are earth shatteringly new, but the chances are that your competitors aren't doing them. I'm sure you could think of 7 ways of following up that are completely unique to you if you sat down and thought about it for a few minutes.

Invest a little bit of time to think of something different you can do to follow up and it will pay you back big time in terms of being memorable.

More Clients Memorandum

Why you don’t get referrals

Posted byIan Brodie on April 5th, 2017.

I've been talking to a couple of people about referrals recently.

Or more specifically, why they're not getting many.

There seems to be this expectation that if you're good at what you do and play your part by referring others, then reciprocation will kick in and people will refer you.

I don't know about you but that rarely happened for me.

If you think about it, expecting people to refer you spontaneously just because they know you and you might have referred them is expecting a lot.

Just think of what's has to happen inside their head for them to be able to refer you confidently. 

Firstly, they need to know that the person they'll be referring you to really needs what you have to offer. Otherwise, they'll be wasting both your time and theirs. (Hint: have you made it clear who would be a good referral for you and what would indicate that they might need your help).

Secondly, they need to be confident that you'll do a great job. You might think it goes without saying, but it rarely does – especially since their reputation is on the line when they refer you. (Hint: focus your attention for referrals on people who have seen you in action – for example clients and ex-clients. And find ways like presentations to demonstrate your expertise to people who haven't worked with you). 

Thirdly, you need to be top of mind. Most people don't wander the streets constantly thinking about how to refer others. So you need to make sure they remember you. (Hint: do you systematically keep in touch with your top potential referrers in a way that adds value to them just like you would do with your top potential clients?)

Fourthly – and this is the most overlooked one – they have to be confident they're not just setting up the person they're referring you to for a sales pitch.

Now you might think your approach is not pitchy at all. It's friendly, you get to know the people you get referred to, you find out their needs, you only offer your services if appropriate.

But to a potential referrer and the person they'd be referring you to, that's still a sales pitch. It's still a meeting or call with the primary purpose of getting you some business – even if they would benefit from your services downstream. 

There's no inherent value in the meeting itself to the person they refer you to.

Is it any wonder they're hesitant to refer?

They have to be really convinced of the downstream value to run the risk of introducing their friends and colleagues to someone whose main motivation is to sell something to them – even if they're going to do it ever so nicely.

So change that dynamic around. Don't make the referral about you getting business. Find a way to make it about the person they refer you to getting value.

Have you written a book or created a benchmarking study or report that potential clients would find really valuable. Then make the referral all about getting that to them, not about meeting with you to talk about working together. 

Or turn a meeting into a “high-value briefing” where you share some valuable information about them. Not a “strategy session” or “needs assessment” or “initial consultation” that's all about finding out what they need so you can offer something to them. Make it a session where you give something valuable to them without expecting to discuss how you could help them.

Believe me, if you do those sessions, and the content is valuable and relevant enough, many people will ask how you could help them. But the key is that they're far keener to have a pure value session than one where the agenda is really about you finding out their needs so you can offer something to them or “start to build a relationship”.

(And, of course, they're far more likely to say yes to working with you if they've asked about it themselves rather than feeling they've been steered into it by your clever strategy session script).

Being good at what you do and being generous at giving referrals is the foundation.

But you'll get far more referrals yourself if you can follow all four of my steps (especially the last one). And your contacts will refer you enthusiastically rather than doing it out of a sense of duty.

More Clients Memorandum

Do you do this? You should

Posted byIan Brodie on April 2nd, 2017.

Ever had someone make a really great first impression on you ?

Probably quite often.

A lot of people are pretty good at making an impression when you first meet them. Do some decent training on networking and you can get pretty good too.

Ever had someone make a really great second impression?

It's much rarer.

Most of the time the folks who make a good first impression leave it at that. They don't follow up.

A few days later, you've probably forgotten them. They've merged into to the mass of other people who made a good first impression too, but you never heard from since (unless they wanted something from you).

Good second impressions stand out because you rarely get them.

When I'm on my game, I'm pretty good at second impressions.

If I meet people I think I could be helpful to and vice versa, I'll check out their Linkedin profile and see if I can find them on google. If they mentioned something they were interested in when we spoke I'll check that out too to see if I can find something helpful for them.

Then I'll email them the next day and try to say something relevant and useful.

Same goes with Linkedin connection requests. You go to all the effort of requesting to connect with someone, or someone interesting offers to connect with you…you click yes to accept the connection…then nothing.

What was the point? Are you hoping the mere fact of connecting with them will burn you into their memory forever so they'll contact you when they need you?

Highly doubtful.

You need to make a great second impression. Check out their profile. Do a little bit of deeper research. Send them a “thanks for connecting” message that's funny, useful, interesting. Anything to make you stand out, and to get a conversation going.

Now in all honesty, I'm not “on my game” on this one all that often. Most usually I'll just click “accept” and leave it at that like everyone else.

So this email is as much a reminder to me as to you that making a great second impression can be hugely valuable. It really makes you stand out.

It might feel like a bit of a drag to do that research and type out the personalised email – but it works.

Some of my best contacts have come from people I've made a great second impression with (or people who've made a great second impression on me).

In fact, the more I think about it, the more I realise how foolish I am not to use this technique every time! It only takes a few minutes really.

More Clients Memorandum

Does “just be yourself” lead to success?

Posted byIan Brodie on March 26th, 2017.

You hear that advice a lot in marketing these days don't you ?

“Just be yourself”. Or “be authentic”. 

And certainly, pretending to be someone else in your marketing is a path to both madness and poor results.

But I think “be yourself” is too simplistic. Here are some other things you need to add to it.

Firstly, just being yourself won't get you far if you're not pretty awesome to start off with.

Not that you need to be perfect by any stretch of the imagination. But if inside you're a bit of a jerk with a chip on their shoulder who constantly complains, then being authentic and letting the world see you're a jerk isn't going to help you.

The answer isn't to pretend to be someone else. It's to work on yourself so you're a better person first. Then be yourself.

(Or I guess, find some customers who enjoy being around a jerk. I suppose they might exist. But the first route is the best for the world).

Secondly, you need to have value to bring to the world.

We're in an age where celebrity itself seems to be be a goal for many people, rather than celebrity being the result of achieving something. Nonetheless, the longer lasting route to success is to have tremendous value to add to the world – and to be yourself while adding that value.

Thirdly, be interesting.

The truth is, there are many different versions of you. The quiet you alone reading. The you that you are when you're with your friends. The you that you are when you're a mother or father, or a husband or wife.

We're a social species and we're slightly different with everyone. There's no “one true you” that you should be when you “be yourself”. 

When you're marketing and you're doing presentations, writing articles or emails like this, you want to shine a light on the most interesting aspects of you that your audience can empathise with, cheer for, side with, laugh at or feel for.

We've all done some interesting things that we can turn into stories we can share with our audience. I've used stories about being a bit of a geek as a kid. About my love of close-up magic, about how I used to play poker tournaments a lot, about my successes and (mainly) failures learning to market and sell. Personal stories about my family and background.

But there's plenty about all of us that isn't that interesting to our audience either. No need to share everything about you or every thought that pops into your head. Think about what would be relevant, interesting or fun for your audience and emphasise that version of you when you're “being yourself”.

I'm sure there are many other factors you could think of that make “being yourself” work, but for me those are the big three I try to focus on.